Solder's worth the more than 10 mil. Tackles cost money. He played well down the stretch.

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That's where value comes in. For what level of above averageness are you willing to break the bank - no matter what the need for the position is? That's not something we have done in the past, nor should do.

Sounds like Sherman will be released tomorrow...expect a ton of teams in on him

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But only ONE he wants to go to?
I hope reports are true and the feeling is mutual.
The fact he is his own agent and his desire to be coached by Bill
This could move quickly.
Only teams I see as competiton
Raiders
Jets
Chargers
Falcons
Niners

But only ONE he wants to go to?
I hope reports are true and the feeling is mutual.
The fact he is his own agent and his desire to be coached by Bill
This could move quickly.
Only teams I see as competiton
Raiders
Jets
Chargers
Falcons
Niners

The encouraging thing about Sherman is that the cap hit should be lower. Talib is getting his full $11 million from the Rams, but if a team were willing to pay Sherman that then he would have been traded already.

The encouraging thing about Sherman is that the cap hit should be lower. Talib is getting his full $11 million from the Rams, but if a team were willing to pay Sherman that then he would have been traded already.

They don't need another outside CB? You really think Rowe will be the answer as the number 2 corner?

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Rowe gave up 75 yards in the last SB and 80 in this one. He’s a serviceable enough CB2, but we could certainly use an upgrade. Let’s see what Belichick thinks. I’m expecting 1 or 2 CBs added through the draft and free agency.

Sherman to Pats - why not. He is a trash talker but on the other hand we need aggressive ( I do not mean Ray Lewis type of players ), experienced and with charisma players. If he wants to play for us with a decent contract I'm in.

They don't need another outside CB? You really think Rowe will be the answer as the number 2 corner?

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It is a matter of priorities and impactful use of resources. No secondary -- no matter how good -- can cover forever if you cant win up front. I dont see how investing 7-10m into Sherman will make us substantially better.

That's where value comes in. For what level of above averageness are you willing to break the bank - no matter what the need for the position is? That's not something we have done in the past, nor should do.

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Regardless how any of us amateurs may rank Solder's skills, performance or value to the team, and regardless what we think the Pats should or should not do about him and the LT position for 2018, the fact remains that just two years ago, the Pats gave him a very player-friendly contract for top-5 money, 99% of which was fully-guaranteed.

If they give him a couple million-$$/year raise to mirror his market value and to keep him protecting Brady for another couple of seasons, it's not going to "break the bank", and it's not really going to inhibit the Pats ability to improve the defense - expect in the opinions of other amateurs who are convinced that the only way to improve the defense is by cutting every player they don't like and replacing them with expensive star players cast off by other teams.

My guess is that he might end up with the Texans. Thanks to a QB on a rookie contract they have some space even though Clowney is up soon. I doubt he would go to San Francisco and face Seattle twice a year (unless the money difference is night and day). And I also dont see him going to a non-competitive team (e.g. Jets or Browns).

Sherman to Pats - why not. He is a trash talker but on the other hand we need aggressive ( I do not mean Ray Lewis type of players ), experienced and with charisma players. If he wants to play for us with a decent contract I'm in.

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While I don't think that the defense needs Sherman nearly as much as it needs more healthy players (with experience) up front and on the second level, I'd love to see his skills, smarts and experience on the team, perhaps especially if they draft a DB (CB or safety) in the first couple rounds.

The "why not?" is cap space. The Pats are still very short on 2018 cap space at the moment with several critical in-house UFAs to re-sign.

That said, the Pats currently have a little over $60M in 2019 cap space. Obviously, a significant chunk of that will be eroded by 2018 re-signings, extensions and new acquisitions, but there are also at least a couple of extension-restructurings that could push some 2019 cap expenses into 2020 (Gronk being a big one).

The point being that, if Sherman is willing to sign a contract that taxes the 2018 cap by only about $4M and balloons in 2019 and 2020 with "deferred" guaranteed money, that could work.

While I don't think that the defense needs Sherman nearly as much as it needs more healthy players (with experience) up front and on the second level, I'd love to see his skills, smarts and experience on the team, perhaps especially if they draft a DB (CB or safety) in the first couple rounds.

The "why not?" is cap space. The Pats are still very short on 2018 cap space at the moment with several critical in-house UFAs to re-sign.

That said, the Pats currently have a little over $60M in 2019 cap space. Obviously, a significant chunk of that will be eroded by 2018 re-signings, extensions and new acquisitions, but there are also at least a couple of extension-restructurings that could push some 2019 cap expenses into 2020 (Gronk being a big one).

The point being that, if Sherman is willing to sign a contract that taxes the 2018 cap by only about $4M and balloons in 2019 and 2020 with "deferred" guaranteed money, that could work.

Otherwise, I don't see it happening.

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Also of note (implied in your message but not explicitly stated) are the players who will be free agents next year: Edelman, Trey Flowers, Mason, Cooks, Chung, Hogan, Brown depending on 5th year option (and if exercised, that's a big raise), Richards (just seeing if people are still reading this....).

They won't resign all of those guys, and they can backload the cap hits on the ones they do. But that 60m in estimated 2019 cap space will vanish in a hurry even before taking a Revis-like deal with Sherman into account. I really love the idea of a Sherman and Gilmore tandem, but I'm really having a hard time seeing it without really sacrificing at other positions. Hope I'm wrong.